Chris Lombardi puts defense and security under the spotlight, as he shares his takes on recent NATO and EU cooperation and provides insight into the company’s own long-term strategic partnerships in Europe.

Three trends are currently driving the global electricity sector: decarbonization, decentralization and differentiation. Utilities are making significant contributions to mitigate carbon emissions, while a technology revolution is …

Liikanen is expected to get a mandate from his colleagues this week to discuss the terms under which the Commission will reoccupy the Berlaymont, evacuated in 1991 after asbestos was discovered in the walls of the building.

The key issue will be whether the Commission should rent or buy the star-shaped edifice and, if it decides on the former option, how much rent it will have to pay and whether it should have an option to buy at the end of the lease.

It is extremely unlikely that the Belgians will accept a nominal rent for the prestigious building in the same way that Geneva charges the United Nations a symbolic one franc for its premises. But André Flahaut, the Belgian minister for public services, has already said the rent will be a political, not an economic one.

In general, the Commission has agreed to pursue a policy of renting with an option to buy in cases where it would provide better value for money in the long term.

The Commission only owns 10% of the 60 buildings it occupies in Brussels, including its current Breydel headquarters, the offices of the Directorate-General for agriculture (DGVI) and the Commission’s central kitchen.

Since becoming a Commissioner, Liikanen has been working to revamp the institution’s building policy and end the ad hoc approach of the past which has led to a concentration of staff in the Rond-Point Schuman area of Brussels.

He wants Commission employees to be based in three sites in the city, possibly to include areas around the Gare du Nord and the Gare du Midi.

Work on the Berlaymont is progressing on schedule, with the bulk of the asbestos due to be removed by the summer and fine cleaning to be completed by the end of the year. But no interior renovation has yet begun and questions stillremain as to how many people will be accommodated there, especially with the number of new entrants to the EU stillto be decided.

The Commission has already declared that cabinets and key services staff will certainly be back in their old offices at the beginning of the new millennium.